Rom 6:12
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. ESV
- The one you obey becomes the master of your life. It says not to let sin reign in your body. “To reign is to rule, to have control over, dominating power or influence.” http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/reign The one you obey is the one you have appointed king of your life. (Rom 6:15-16) Who have you appointed king in your life? Whose desires do you live out, who do you listen to? Jesus said you can only have one master Matt 6:24. If you try to have two, he said you would love one and despise the other. Who does my life show that I have made my master? What evidence in my life shows who I have made my life and my lips declare? If I declare different masters my lips are lying because I know I declared the wrong king, but don’t want to admit it. Who reigns in your life?
Rom 6:15-16
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? NKJV
- vs 1-2; Ps 19:13; Prov 5:22; Isa 30:1; 44:14-17; 65:13; Joel 2:13; Matt 6:24; John 8:34; 13:3-5; Rom 2:4-5; 5:8; 6:1, 12; 11:6; 1 Cor 5:2; 6:12; Gal 4:8; 5:1; 2 Tim 2:26; Heb 10:15-16; James 4:4; 2 Peter 2:19; Jude 4
Luke 2:50-51
50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. ESV
- Sometimes parents don’t understand. This has become one of the most commonly mentioned excuses for kids to do what they want, instead of honoring their parents. Most of the time the parents actually understand more then kids. However, kids doesn’t see the big picture, even when parents don’t understand, it isn’t an excuse to do your own thing. Jesus’ parents truly didn’t understand, yet He was submissive anyway. We need to have the same attitude that Jesus had. Eph 6:1-2;
Mark 4:24
24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. ESV
- This verse combines two concepts that I have never connected. I am familiar with the idea that I need to be careful of what I hear, I know that with the measure I use it will be used back to me, but how does that apply in what I hear? The answer lies in verse 25.
Mark 4:25
25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” ESV
- Is the answer as simple as it sounds? If you use what you have you’ll grow and be able to hear more, but if you don’t listen to what you have you will not receive any thing else. Instead, you’ll become too calloused (hard) to hear. Heb 3:8 Says if you hear, do not harden your heart… So if you hear and do not listen- what you have will be taken away. Luke 8:18 accounts these thoughts as tied together as well. Matt 28:11-15 shows ignoring the word because it didn’t line up with what they wanted.
- Note this is immediately after the parable of the sower, three times in this chapter we have been told to listen. We were given the story of different people who all received the word, though all received, only 1 of the 4 groups produced fruit. 3 of the 4 groups lost what they had. They have been given a word but because they didn’t let it go down deep, take root and grow, they lost it. Even what they had was gone.
- Lord, help us to be the good soil, let your word take root and produce fruit (actions) that are pleasing to you.
Ezek 33:7
7 “So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. NKJV
- God didn’t give him much of an option. God made him with works to do (Eph 2:10). Like Ezekiel, we have been made with a plan (Jer 29:11) with works that we are to do, our choice is simple, it is to obey or rebel.
Ps 119:113
I hate the double-minded, But I love Your law. NKJV
- James 1:8; 1 Kings 18:21
NLT 113 I hate those who are undecided about you, but my choice is clear — I love your law. Is your choice clear? Can the world see that you have chosen to follow God at any cost?
Ps 119:2-3
2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.
- Blessed are those who DO (who keep), not those that know. What are you doing with what you know? The blessing comes with the doing, not the knowing. John 13:17;
- Where you set your heart determines where you walk. Have you deliberately placed your heart somewhere? If you don’t choose on purpose it will make bad default choices. Jer 17:9; 2 Chron 12:14 – Rehoboam didn’t choose to set his heart on evil he just didn’t choose to set his heart on God and so he did evil. We need to choose today to set out heart to please the lord. Josh 24:15
3 They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways. NIV
- This is the key to Right living. They do nothing wrong. Why? Because they are seeking God with all their heart. Matt 22:37-40 Says to love God and his people and you will fulfill every other command. Are you seeking God or yourself first? What is your heart set on? A heart that is set on Pleasing God needs to know what pleases God, Ps 119:9-11, 105. If we are seeking God we will fill up on his word that shows us what pleases Him. If he is our number one desire when we see what pleases Him we will make that our desire.
- Prov 4:23; Ps 119:11
- The heart comes up in Ps 119 15 times in NKJV
1 Kings 8:61
61 Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.” ESV
- Later in life Solomon himself would have done well to listen to his own advice. I think most of the time we are fully capable of giving ourselves great advice. If someone else came to us with the same problem we would give them good advice the trick is both in doing, and making your choice before the heat of a moment filled with emotion. 2 Chron 12:14
- What areas are you not taking your own advice? “I know I really should….” “I probably shouldn’t… But” Why is it hard to take your own advice?
- Are you making choices ahead of time or do you wait until emotions are high and you can no longer think straight.
Ex 5:2
2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” ESV
- Prov 8:13; Ex 14:4; Pharaoh doesn’t know God so there is no reason to obey him. The first step in the fear of the Lord is knowing that He exists. If someone was to look at your life does it demonstrate the fear of the Lord through obedience, or does it display that they you say you believe in a God you never give thought to? Do you think about the fact that He is and that you will give an account to him?
- Throughout the rest of Pharaoh’s story God wants him to know that he is God. Ex 7:5, 17; 8:10, 22; 9:14, 29; 14:4, 18;
- At first his magicians were able to do the same signs, so pharaoh begin to harden his heart, 8:19 his magicians told him this is God, yet pharaoh’s heart was already hardened. In Ex 10:3 Pharaoh is asked how long will you refuse to humble yourself before God. So it is no longer a question of if this signs are from God but the question now is who is stronger Pharaoh or God.
- (see notes on pharaoh’s hardening his heart Ex 4:21)
Ex 1:17
17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. ESV
- Prov 8:13; Fearing God changed the way they lived. What was right was more important to them then what Pharaoh wanted them to do.
Ex 1:21
21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. ESV
- Ex 1:17; Prov 8:13; God rewarded them for fearing him. Along with obeying God comes his blessing.
- This doesn’t mean that if you follow God everything will be a cake walk. They still had to face an unhappy pharaoh. Joseph out of fear of God refused to sin with Potiphar’s wife Gen 39:9. This choice wasn’t easy, in fact it took him to jail for a few years, but even in the midst of a mess God’s favor was on him. The character that got him in prison opened up doors for him to be over all the rest of the prisoners and eventually set him in charge of Egypt. Following God is filled with a different set of challenges. You will have opposition, but you will have God’s blessing and his favor when you do things his way.
Rom 13:1-2
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. NKJV
- Authority Acts 23:5; Eph 6:1-2; Heb 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13-15;
- I would like to say to start with that I don’t like this verse. But that doesn’t change its divine status. God is the ultimate and divine authority, when we start rebelling against authorities we are ultimately rebelling against Him. God instituted the home and it was His idea to place parents in the home and to give them authority. He tells kids in to obey their patents (Eph 6:1-2), if they refuse they are rebelling against more then just their parents. The Bible does make it clear if the authority is telling you to disobey God you still need to obey God (Acts 5:29) He is the ULTIMATE authority. But I think by nature I have a tendency to undervalue the other authorities that God has ordained. God help me to respect all authority that you have established.
